The Cincinnati Reds made a pick in this year’s Rule 5 draft, selecting Cooper Bowman from the Sacramento (?) Athletics. The club passed on their 2nd pick, ending their drafting ability. Only Atlanta made a 2nd round selection and they passed after that. Cincinnati lost no one in the Major League Baseball phase of the draft.
Cooper Bowman was a 4th round pick by the New York Yankees back in 2021 out of Louisville. In a fun twist of fate, Bowman was acquired by Oakland at the trade deadline in 2022 when the Yankees traded for Frankie Montas as a part of a 6-player deal.
During the 2024 season he began the year in Double-A with Midland in the Texas League. He would play in 80 games there and hit .281/.378/.467 with 18 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs, and he went 35-for-40 in stolen base attempts. That earned him a promotion to Triple-A on the final day of July.
After he arrived in Las Vegas and the Pacific Coast League, things didn’t go well. The 24-year-old struggled to get anything going at the plate. He played in 38 games for Las Vegas and hit just .218/.284/.308 with eight doubles, two triples, and no home runs. Bowman did go 8-for-9 in steals, giving him 43 of them on the season between his two years. Between his two stops he played in 118 games and hit a combined .262/.351/.419 with 58 walks and 112 strikeouts in 523 plate appearances.
You can see the career stats for Cooper Bowman here.
In Baseball America’s midseason update Cooper Bowman was ranked as the Athletics 22nd prospect. He’s a strong athlete with plus-plus speed. He’s got a chance to be an every day player if he can hit a little bit more like he did in Double-A than he did in Triple-A. With that said, he likely profiles more as a utility player who can play second base and in the outfield as a backup option who can also provide you plenty of value on the bases off of the bench.
The rules with the Rule 5 draft mean that Cooper Bowman will have to remain on the Reds 26-man roster for the entirety of the 2025 season or be offered back to the Athletics.
The MiLB Rule 5 Draft
There is also a minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft and the rules there are much easier. If a player is selected then that player is now with their new organization and there are no restrictions on where that player can be assigned within the organization.
Cincinnati selected left-handed pitcher Joel Valdez from the New York Yankees in the 1st round of this portion of the draft. The 24-year-old reliever posted a 3.41 ERA in 58.0 innings for High-A Hudson Valley with 29 walks and 72 strikeouts in the 2024 season.
You can see the career stats for Joel Valdez here.
In the 2nd round of the minor league phase, the Reds picked right-handed pitcher Brandon Komar from the St. Louis Cardinals. In each of the last two seasons he’s spent time in both Double-A and Triple-A. The 25-year-old made eight starts and 11 relief appearances in Double-A where he had a 2.50 ERA. All 10 of his appearances in Triple-A were int he bullpen where he posted a 5.24 ERA in 22.1 innings.
You can see the career stats for Brandon Komar here.
The Reds lost shortstop Jose Torres to the Colorado Rockies in the minor league phase of the draft. He had spent all of the 2024 season with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts. He was Cincinnati’s 3rd round pick in 2021. Over the last two seasons he’s hit .201/.280/.305 in 168 games with Chattanooga.
You can see the career stats for Jose Torres here.
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